Planning Ireland's energy future
At EirGrid, one of our roles is to plan the development of the electricity transmission grid to meet the future needs of society. Key to this process is considering a range of possible ways that energy usage may change in the future and the impact this change will have on the electricity grid - we call this scenario planning.
In our Tomorrow’s Energy Scenarios (TES) publication we outline credible pathways for Ireland’s clean energy transition with specific focus on what this means for the electricity transmission system over the next twenty years. This is framed against a backdrop of ambitious targets at national and European level for decarbonisation of the energy sector and a large increase in electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030.
The Tomorrow’s Energy Scenarios 2019 report is available to view here.
Using our scenarios we’ve identified future needs of the grid, as part the TES 2019 System Needs Assessment. These needs arise from changes in the usage of the grid, which is influenced by the scale and location of electricity consumption, generation, interconnection and storage.
You can view the TES 2019 System Needs Assessment report here.
TES 2019 Scenario 1: Centralised Energy
A plan-led scenario in which Ireland achieves a low carbon future
TES 2019 Scenario 2: Delayed Transition
A scenario in which decarbonisation progress is made, but the pace is not sufficient to meet climate objectives
TES 2019 Scenario 3: Coordinated Action
A scenario where sustainability is a core part of decision making. Government and citizens recognise climate change as a risk and take appropriate action.
Next Steps
The TES 2019 System Needs Assessment report concludes our scenario development cycle for 2019. Our biennial scenario development cycle will begin again in spring 2021 starting with a revision of our scenarios. We are committed to involving our stakeholders in how we plan the future transmission grid, and will engage with our stakeholders throughout our TES 2021 scenario development process.
For more information on TES, you can email the team on TES to scenarios@eirgrid.com and one of our team will be in touch.
Consultation and webinar
Stakeholder engagement and feedback are key elements of the TES process. We held a public consultation on TES 2019 earlier in the year. Read the news release we published on this consultation here.
Thanks to all our stakeholders who engaged in the process and provided feedback. This feedback helped to shape our final scenario portfolios.
Webinar
The TES 2019 webinar is available to watch back on our YouTube channel here. You can also watch it below.
TES Archive
To view a list of our past TES documents, click here.